‘We knew about Zinnbauer’s family issue 10 days ago’, says Pirates’ Floyd Mbele

Orlando Pirates’ administrative official, Floyd Mbele has revealed that the club knew about the coach, Josef Zinnbauer’s family emergency at least 10 days before he asked for compassionate leave so he could be with his loved ones in Germany.

Zinnbauer’s shockingly sudden departure was announced on live television just before the Buccaneers played Kaizer Chiefs in an MTN8 semifinal on Saturday afternoon.

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And while Zinnbauer wouldn’t let on what the emergency was, the club later sent out a statement saying the issue had to do with his son but couldn’t clarify whether it was health-related or not.
Mbele also wouldn’t expand on that when he spoke to SAfm on Monday evening, only saying the matter is family-related and insisting that the coach would be back soon.

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“We knew about Zinnbauer’s family issue 10 days before the match, but it was a matter of when he wants to leave, before or after the derby or even after the international break. We left the decision completely to him,” said Mbele

He also questioned why some people were second-guessing the club’s statement, and drawing unfair similarities between Zinnbauer’s situation and how Micho Sredojevic left the club at the beginning of last season.

“People are putting two and two together and getting 10, they are drawing similarities between the Micho situation and this one. Micho resigned before he left and it’s different this time. We have the coach compassionate leave.

“We are not sure when he will come back. We are leaving everything to the coach because this is a sensitive matter. We do expect him to come back because he has a contract with the club and has to fulfill his obligations. But there is no time frame,” added Mbele.